Saturday, June 09, 2007

Family is Priceless



Yesterday in the mail, PaPa Don received a giant fish pillow from Aunt Margaret in Vegas. The two have a constant rivalry on who can catch the bigger fish. It's a wonderful competition that has prompted the most hillarious gift exchanges. Once unfolded from its vaccuum-sealed package, we discovered the fish pillow is larger than Little K. Here, PaPa Don & Little K examine the fish closely on the floor.

Yesterday afternoon, we went swimming with cousin Bentley, Uncle Sean, Aunt Patti & Grammy at the new rec center they joined. Chineese take-out at Uncle Sean's filled us up. I was amazed to see 6 year-old Bentley sharing with Little K. It was amazing. When I told Little K that Bentley would soon pay us a visit in Texas, Little K said "and play with cousin Brent." This struck a cord that I was not prepared for. I was delighted to hear my daughter wanting to pull together her cousins. Family is priceless.

Today we've already picked plenty of peas from the garden & completed chores. In exchange for a 50 cent piece, Little K helped PaPa Don (or "Don" as Kylie insists on calling him, much to my horror) pick up the small sticks scattered over the backyard from the messy sycamore tree. Regular breaks to eat peas were provided. Next, we filled up on fruit from the frig and ventured out to Meijers store up the street. It's somewhat similar to Walmart, but much nicer & cleaner. Apparently, Meijers only is in the northwest region of the U.S. or I'd be a new customer. I told Little K that she could buy one sticker or a candy since she helped PaPa Don this morning. She hated the fact that I wouldn't let her eat them all in the store before paying for the candy by the ounce. Grammy encouraged me to give her a few more while we shopped but we continue to fight the battle of rewarding bad behavior. You know how this battle is played in public when Mom doesn't want a scene. Ugh.

After a temper tantrum over gummy bears in Meijers stores, Little K was sent to bed for an afternoon nap. She called for the fish pillow!

Until the next nap time...